Evaluating business students’ technical competence and professional skills development in business education

The accounting profession is experiencing rapid transformation driven by technological advancement, automation, and globalisation, resulting in expanded expectations for accounting graduates beyond traditional technical expertise. This study examines the extent to which accounting education supports the development of both technical competence and professional skills among undergraduate accounting students, with particular focus on students’ self-assessed competency levels. Using a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 105 (representing an 86% response rate) final-year Bachelor of Education (Accounting) students at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana. The questionnaire was developed in line with the International Accounting Education Standards (IES 2 and IES 3) and analysed using descriptive statistics and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that students demonstrate acceptable levels of technical competence across key accounting subject areas, with stronger development observed in taxation, management accounting, and economics, and comparatively lower development in governance and risk management. Professional skills were also found to be developed at an acceptable level, particularly in teamwork, communication, and leadership, although conflict resolution skills were relatively weaker. Importantly, the study establishes a strong and statistically significant relationship between technical competence and professional skills development, indicating that enhanced technical training substantially contributes to the development of broader professional capabilities. The results underscore the need for accounting curricula to adopt a more integrated approach that deliberately combines technical instruction with structured professional skills training. The study contributes to the accounting education literature by providing student-centred empirical evidence from a developing-country context and offers practical insights for educators, curriculum designers, and professional bodies seeking to improve graduate readiness for contemporary accounting practice.